BNP Paribas Tennis Tournament

On a whim, we decided to take the boys and head to Palm Springs for a little sun and tennis. I wasn't sure if the boys would overdose on tennis as it was the only planned entertainment the whole time. Turns out they found plenty of ways to keep busy.I worried about taking them (Christian) out of school for 3 days so close to the end of the term. If the truth were known-they did have a lot of catching up to do and that was hard-BUT I would definitely do it again. The boys said it was one of their favorite trips ever. Getting away and having a breather was a necessity. For all of us.

Check out the cute little ball boys/girls in yellow on the court. The first match we saw we had amazing seats close to the court. Instead of being focused on the great tennis being played, we found ourselves mesmerized with the "ball kids." My son was cracking me up the whole time. Mostly when I shouldn't have. He was very vocal about how uncoordinated and awkward the ball kids were. Rude-I know. But funny.

Poor guy didn't have a chance against Rafa.
This was this cute girl's first tournament. She was 17 and amazing. We will definitely be seeing more of her.


Trying to cover the front and the back from serious sun and heat.

The Parker Palm Springs

We stayed at the most random, retro hotel while we were in Palm Springs. It was a bit of a surprise. Unbeknownst to us, it has gotten quite a bit of publicity and is famous in certain circles. Apparently, we have not spent a lot of time in those circles. It was a fabulous hotel-especially if you have an appreciation for the color orange, and shag, and men in salmon colored pants, and clay tennis courts, and secret garden mazes and little lemonade stands.

Christian in the lobby...
When we first arrived and were checking in, I felt a tug on my sleeve. I looked to see Gabe-wide eyed-pointing at the sign above the fake fireplace. No words could come out of his proper little mouth.

Behind Gabe is the cute, little pool area where I spent a very short amount of time (while the boys golfed) before I overheated.

Those clubs are the only reason that I get to check my bag. Without them, I would be pouring all of my liquids into 2 oz. containers and placing them inside of a ziplock bag.

More lobby decor

There was no straight path to anything. Lots of intimate, landscaped pathways that led you in a million circles. It took me the whole trip to figure out how to get to our room.

This is how I started every day. With the snow here today it feels like a very distant memory. But a lovely memory none the less.

This is where we would end the day. Jordan and I are not used to sleeping in a double bed. It was not a smooth transition. And the boys were not used to sleeping in such close quarters with "shake-the-walls-snoring" by their dad. It was good to come home and get some sleep.

How to photograph toddlers and teenagers

A couple of days ago I read this darling post about how a cute mom (who is already a genius behind the camera) goes about photographing her toddler. It included tips like..take the picture/check the lighting/close the curtains/shift the toddler slightly to take advantage of better lighting/change camera settings....

They were great ideas. Ideas I wanted to try. But the next time I got the camera out to take a photo of my teenager's very creative "European Rock Climber" outfit he picked out for a youth activity this was the process:

1. Go to get camera. Overhear your two boys say, "oh crap, here comes the camera."

2. Try to stand in front of teenager as he proceeds to walk toward the door. Fumble quickly to get the lens cap off.

3. Try to look at last camera settings but realize that with every second I waste teenager is getting closer to the exit-so commit to using whatever the last camera settings were.

4. Beg teenager to stop moving. Snap a quick photo. Look and realize that half of him is cropped out of the photo.

5. Back up quickly (watch out for the kitchen table). Ask teenager to back up (I have a fixed lens on the camera). Teenager sighs/grunts/and tells you to hurry.

6. So you hurry and snap one last photo (that makes two) as the door shuts behind him.

7. Love and cherish every poor quality, crazy faced photo you get.